


There's No "I" in Team

by spicysoo



Series: Anime AU's [1]
Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Threesome - M/M/M, hq! inspired au, outsider pov, the only things i know about volleyball is what i see in anime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 10:44:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8398555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spicysoo/pseuds/spicysoo
Summary: Sungyeol isn't one for practicing outside of practice and then he sees something that changes his mind.





	

If there was one thing that Sungyeol was good at, it was volleyball. With his tall height and his ability to send a spike that was almost always nonreturnable, he’d been able to do well with most of the teams that he had played with. Even with the minimal practice that he did, the teenager was able to get by with only going to team practices and having an occasional session outside of practice to improve. So when he had found himself being transferred to a new school in his second year, a school that had one of the best volleyball teams in the nation, he figured he’d be doing the same thing. Natural talent getting him on the team and keeping him there with minimal effort and when after a few weeks that had turned out to be true, Sungyeol couldn’t help but be ecstatic.

He loved volleyball, but he didn’t love it enough to give his whole life to it. And for most people, that was fine and for the team he found himself on, most of them didn’t care either. Unless you counted the team’s starters that is, and even then, Sungyeol was sure they would never say anything about it either. Because for as much as they took volleyball seriously, almost to the point that Sungyeol didn’t know if he should laugh or cry at being stuck with people that serious, they were quick to accept him and his abilities. 

He was talented and he worked well with the others, so there really wasn’t a reason for any of them to get pissed off about him going home as soon as practice had ended or spending his weekends watching movies or shopping or doing things that most teenagers did in their time off instead of perfecting some new skill, but something missing. Sungyeol was missing and as much as Sungyeol stayed away, not knowing how much his absence would cause, the team knew it deeply. But not enough to say anything, because as much as all of them loved volleyball and didn’t mind practicing, Sungyeol wasn’t like them and they had no right to say anything. Even if a few them wanted to share a couple of words and instill something in Sungyeol that could possibly change him for the better. 

Practice could easily open doors for many, but for Sungyeol, who would usually get things with an ease that could easily cause a lesser man to become jealous, it had never really mattered to him. If anything, he didn’t really think much about it, because as much as he didn’t practice, he couldn’t really wrap his mind around his team members practicing more than a couple of hours after practice either. And when the team got better, when members improved with every couple of practices —Dongwoo getting to lower balls easier or Myungsoo having better timing on his setting or Hoya’s serves becoming even more powerful than they were before —Sungyeol chalked it up to them being talented enough to improve at a rate that belied their true efforts. 

He never realized how much effort they put into it or how long they would stay, the second year assuming that they practiced maybe a max of one to two hours after practice and maybe a few hours on the weekends to get things, but Sungyeol couldn’t imagine them practicing any more than that. The thought was insane, especially for all the talented individuals on his team, despite some of their physical limitations. Because as much as some of them were shorter than most of the teams within the Seoul area, all of them had different ways to combat their lack of height. Between jumping power, the ability to think under pressure, or being able to make use of tricks that would affect the ball in all the right ways, Sungyeol’s team was either evenly matched or better than most teams. 

His team was talented, probably one of the most talented teams in the league, so Sungyeol couldn’t help but assume that they were as naturally gifted as he was.  
Until he couldn’t anymore. 

Because after a month into the season, his team already having won one tournament, Sungyeol had been surprised to find that he had been wrong about a lot of things. Especially towards members that he had looked up to or was in awe of, but nothing had prepared him to witness their miracle rookie, Kim Myungsoo, practicing. And it was all because he had been a little scatterbrained that day and had forgotten some homework at school and had needed to go back to get it. So as much as the trip should have been uneventful, it wasn’t.

As soon as he had made his way past the gym doors, he had noticed the gym’s lights were on and could hear the sound of something hitting the ground or wall and some people talking as well. Intrigued by what he could see and hear, especially since it was close to nine and most students would have left school about an hour ago if they had anything left to do, Sungyeol couldn’t help but make his way to the closed doors and watch the scene unfold before him.  
Three of his teammates, all tired and sweaty, one of which was almost completely drenched in sweat, had stared back at him. Volleyballs were littering the floor and if Sungyeol squinted, he could make out a a couple of plastic water bottles along the volleyball court as well. But none of that was surprising compared to the identities of the members before him, because as soon as he could make out Hoya’s strong form, Dongwoo’s wild hair color, and Myungsoo’s handsome face, even with all the sweat he was sweating, Sungyeol couldn’t help but stare in disbelief. 

Practice had ended hours ago, and yet, the three of them had been there for a while. Myungsoo easily having been there longer than the other two or having worked much harder than them, because Sungyeol had never seen Myungsoo look that sweaty before.

Seeing Myungsoo wave for Dongwoo to throw him another ball, Myungsoo setting himself up to set, spike, or even tip the ball over the other side of the net, it wasn’t long before he connected. The sound of a ball hitting one of the water balls dead on was quick to follow, and Sungyeol, for what was probably the thousandth time in his life was amazed. 

Myungsoo may have only been a freshman, but he was one of the best setters in the league and he was one of the only people that could give Sungyeol a toss he actually liked. Usually Sungyeol didn’t care about tosses since he could easily get to most, but for someone to give him the perfect toss, he couldn’t help but respect the other boy quite a bit. And to see him practicing so hard, even hours after practice, was surprising. Because up until that point, Sungyeol thought the guy was a genius that didn’t need much practice, but here he was doing it anyway. 

Deciding to stand around for a couple of more minutes, wanting to know what else the three were doing, Sungyeol couldn’t help but get an odd feeling as he continued to watch. Myungsoo’s drive and effort starting to scare him as the other didn’t take any breaks, consistently asking Dongwoo or Hoya to give him tosses with no break. The two looking more and more uncomfortable as time went on, especially when Hoya and Dongwoo eventually stopped what they were doing to either watch or toss to Myungsoo. Only for the other boy to work himself to exhaustion with little to no water, but had still wanted to toss despite how sloppy his sets were getting. 

Sungyeol didn’t know how long time had passed, but he knew he had to have been standing there for over an hour and yet, he found that he couldn’t move. Almost as if something was telling him to stay and watch, intending to show him something important— 

And then he saw the other wince, almost as if the other was in pain, before the ball had missed its target by multiple feet. Something of which had been impossible up until that point, even with how sloppy Myungsoo had become, Sungyeol knew Myungsoo had overstepped some boundary that he shouldn’t have. Because as soon as Dongwoo and Hoya noticed what happened, the two had quickly made their way to the other male. Dongwoo’s features filled with worry, the other probably feeling terrible for letting Myungsoo do what he had been doing, while Hoya had looked positively angry — the type of angry that was brought by worry instead of rage, Sungyeol could only watch with bated breath. 

Because seconds later, Hoya had grabbed onto the other’s shirt and was pulling him away from the net and towards the wall. The second year’s voice loud as he yelled, “God Myungsoo, you’re so fucking stupid sometimes… Haven’t you learned anything since middle school?” 

Unable to see Myungsoo’s face, but able to see the way the other’s shoulders drooped and how he let Hoya tug him along with an ease Myungsoo had reserved for no one except Dongwoo, Sungyeol couldn’t help but wonder if Myungsoo was ashamed of what he had just done or if he was feeling something else. Hearing Hoya growl, obviously upset but doing his best to calm himself a little, the other was quick to continue on, “Fuck, I don’t mean that… I don’t mean it like that… I… Ugh, fuck, you just make me worry… I should have stopped you earlier… But fuck, you’re always so good at convincing me to let you do things, even things I know you shouldn’t be doing.” 

Seeing Hoya eventually force Myungsoo to sit and drink some water, Hoya gruffly telling the other to drink all of it, Sungyeol watched the other pace a little, still a little angry, only to sit down a moment later with a long drawn out sigh. While Dongwoo, who had been silent up until that point, and was quietly wiping off Myungsoo’s sweaty forehead and neck with a towel, finally uttered, “It’s Sungyeol, isn’t it?” 

Feeling his heart stop at the other’s words, especially since it was a ludicrous question, Sungyeol couldn’t help but be confused. Why would he be to blame for Myungsoo overworking himself? Why would he be the reason for Hoya’s justifiable anger in regards to Myungsoo’s actions? Why was he even being mentioned?  
It’s not like he did anything to the other boy. 

In fact, he had actually respected Myungsoo a lot and had treated him quite well when he had thought about it, but for some odd reason, Dongwoo thought it was him.  
And hearing Hoya growl once again, the other’s nostril’s flaring in anger, it was obvious that Hoya thought the same.  
What the hell had he done?

But before he could even make his presence known and tell them off or at least ask them why the thought he was the reason, Dongwoo softly continued, “You’re perfecting your timing and height based on what you remember him liking in practices and games. But because we only get so much time to practice such things, especially since Sungyeol never wants to stay after practice unless he has to, you’re trying to overcompensate by being able to toss anywhere and at a variety of heights that you think will work for him… And since he’s not here, it’s hard for you to know explicitly what he likes, unlike Hoya, Woohyun, or Sunggyu… Members that have spent time with you… Oh Myungsoo… You don’t need to work that hard.”

Now able to see Myungsoo’s face a bit more clearly than before, Sungyeol could only watch Myungsoo struggle to express what he wanted to say.  
Dongwoo’s words had shown them that he had been able to see right through Myungsoo, understanding him in a way that neither Sungyeol nor Hoya could understand, Myungsoo’s face betrayed everything. 

“Fuck! Myungsoo, you shouldn’t be working this hard. Especially since he’s not meeting you half way… He doesn’t meet any of us half way half the time, but you… You shouldn’t be taking that to heart. You’ve already done your part. There’s no need for you to do shit like this to make it easier on him.” Hoya angrily muttered, the boy vibrating with an energy that made Sungyeol gulp. 

If Sungyeol made himself known, he was sure the other boy would be punching him in the face.

“You don’t get it! I do have to do this, I do… I know I’m only a freshman, but I’m the control center of this team… I’m the one that gives you guys the ability to score and if I can make it easier for Sungyeol to do so, then I need to practice. So even if I don’t always know what he likes when it comes to his tosses like I do you guys, I don’t want to limit myself by needing to practice with him when he obviously doesn’t want to do so. All I need to do is spend a bit more time—”  
“Myungsoo, stop right there. Don’t you fucking dare say what you’re going to say. You’ve done more than enough—”

“No I haven’t! I haven’t done enough at all… I know all about last year. I know how heartbroken you and Dongwoo and Sunggyu and everyone on the team was. I know how hard you guys worked and yet, you guys didn’t make it because your setter stopped trying and I don’t want to be like him. I don’t want to disappoint you guys or ever let you down because I wasn’t good enough… I don’t want Dongwoo to miss his chance this year, it’s his last year and I know we can make it if I just practice enough. I need to do this so we can all go to nationals—”

And then suddenly, everything stopped, because as soon as Myungsoo uttered those words, Dongwoo had grabbed Myungsoo’s face and kissed him squarely on the mouth. 

Face turning red and feeling like he shouldn’t be intruding on something like this, but with his legs still unable to move, all Sungyeol could do was watch Dongwoo kiss the other for all he was worth. Only for Hoya to join in a little later when Dongwoo had finally pulled back, and then Hoya was kissing Myungsoo. The kiss much more hungry and aggressive than Dongwoo’s kiss had been, but nowhere near less kind and caring. And then all Sungyeol could do was close his eyes and hope for the three to stop.

He didn’t want to see this, he had no right to.

These kisses were obviously for Myungsoo only and yet, Sungyeol was being a pervert for watching the three of them kiss. So the least he could do was close his eyes and give them that, at least until he could move his legs that is. 

Almost sighing in relief when the three of them stopped, his ears picking that up as soon as he heard Dongwoo speak, “Myungsoo, you’ve got it all wrong. I don’t need you to do that. None of us do and if any of the others could hear you now, they’d tell you the same. Hoya thinks the same. I’m sure Sunggyu and Woohyun do to and while I have no idea what Sungyeol thinks, I couldn’t imagine him being the type of person that would want you to hurt yourself or make yourself sick because you thought you had to do something like this. It’s a team effort and you shouldn’t feel like you have to shoulder something like this. If anything, I and Sunggyu should be doing this, not you, a freshman that just joined this year… It doesn’t matter if we’ve been playing together for years and that you’ve always been our setter, but this… This isn’t something you need to hurt yourself over, alright?”

“But hyung, I know how heartbroken you were last year and I’m not hurting myself, I’m not… I just want to do as much as I can, we only have so much time left and I-I don’t want to be useless and—”

If there was one thing Sungyeol didn’t need to hear, it was that, because as soon as those words had come out of Myungsoo’s mouth. Words that easily revealed how insecure and burdened Myungsoo was with everything, Sungyeol couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed. 

He knew nothing of how Myungsoo or anyone felt because he didn’t give any of them a chance to do so. He just went to practice and expected things to be like his last couple of teams, when really, he shouldn’t have assumed that at all. Everyone on the team was so fucking passionate, way too passionate at times, and for them to be okay with Sungyeol constantly ducking off as soon as practice was over while most of the team would stay to practice, it was kind of a stupid thought to have. 

Beyond stupid, really.

Like how could he be so dumb? 

“Myungsoo, you’re not useless. You’ve never been useless… Since when have you started feeling this way? Who made you think that? Was it someone on the team, was it someone from middle school… I know you’ve always liked to go hard, but have you always thought that? I can’t believe I - no, we missed this. How could we miss this? How—” 

Wincing at Dongwoo’s voice, at how worried the other had felt, Sungyeol found himself staring at Myungsoo. The other was completely wrecked and despite being a year or so older than the other boy, the other looked so young and vulnerable. 

Sungyeol may not be completely at fault, but he could now understand why the other two believed him to be. Because looking at Myungsoo try so hard and feel the way he was feeling, he kind of felt angry at himself too. It wasn’t like the others were asking him to practice as much as they did, but really, he could give up a couple extra hours to practice with them a bit more and actually become a part of the team. 

“It’s not like that. It’s never been like that with you guys… It’s just something that happens sometimes… I don’t mean to think that, but I can’t help it. I just want you and everyone else to succeed and if I end up being the reason why you guys can’t, I couldn’t take that… No one did anything to me and it’s not like you guys are at fault for anything, you didn’t miss anything! I swear!”

“Are you sure?” Hoya asks, voice quite cautious that Sungyeol found himself surprised by how worried the other sounded, the slightly older male finished, “Are you sure no one did or said something to you? You shouldn’t be feeling like that in the first place and for you to do so, it makes us worried, you know?” 

Seeing Myungsoo shakily nod, “It’s not… I’m just… I’m just being too harsh on myself I guess… I’ve gotten too caught up with what I thought you guys would want and just didn’t think as much as I should… I’m not trying to take everything on by myself… I just can’t help it sometimes… I just want to do my part… I just want to make sure I’m part of the reasons why you two make your goals instead of the reason for why you don’t… I’m not… I’m not… I don’t…”

Struggling to put his emotions into phrases, into words that the two of them could understand, Sungyeol’s heart constricted at the sight of Dongwoo pulling the boy into another hug. Only for Hoya to wrap his arms around the two of them in a way that didn’t scream awkward, but showed affection and a gentleness that Sungyeol had never seen the other second year do.

The two cared so much about the setter, so much more than Sungyeol could have ever imagined, and to see something like this, it kind of took Sungyeol’s breath away. 

It also made him feel like shit, because this scene hadn’t been for his eyes, and yet, he had watched it anyway. And as much as it was a terrible, shitty thing to do, without it, he wouldn’t have realized how stupid he was being.

Feeling his body tremble and his legs almost buckle at keeping himself upright for so long, Sungyeol almost gave a sigh of relief when he was able to move one of his feet a moment later. Figuring that he had stayed long enough, seeing what he had needed to see, Sungyeol quickly moved his body backwards and away from the door. The second year finally making his way to his locker to grab his homework and go home, intending to keep his presence unknown to the other three. Because after everything, he didn’t need any of them to realize what he had witnessed, nevertheless felt.

However, despite that, he wasn’t going to waste that info either, because come Monday’s practice, he would actually stay. There was no good reason not too, because at the end of the day, if his team was going to win nationals, he actually needed to be there. He needed his team to know that he had wanted something like that too.

He was one of their starting spikers, that is.


End file.
